The LIFX White 800 LED is a solid option for bringing connected lighting to your home without a hub, but the cost of multiple bulbs quickly adds up.

The LIFX White 800 LED ($39.99) is a Wi-Fi-enabled smart bulb that you can control from your smartphone or tablet. It casts several shades of warm and cool light at a brightness of up to 890 lumens. That's nice and bright, and you can adjust the settings easily with an app. It's easier to install than our Editors' Choice, the Philips Hue Lux, thanks to built-in Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n circuitry that doesn't require a bridge or hub. But the Hue Lux bulbs cost half the price at $19.95 apiece, which makes a big difference if you're planning to connect most of your home.

Bulb and Setup The LIFX White 800 is 4.5 inches tall, which is smaller than the LIFX color LED (5.3 inches), but slightly larger than the Connected By TCP (4.3 inches) and the Hue Lux (4.3 inches) bulbs. LIFX uses a plastic cone instead of the glass employed by Philips and TCP, and the White 800 can be ordered with either an Edison screw or a Bayonet connector. It comes in a pearl white finish and is intended for indoor use only.

The White 800 shines at up to 890 lumens, which is equivalent to about 60 watts in terms of incandescent bulb luminance. That's only slightly brighter than the TCP bulb (800 lumens), but a good deal brighter than the Hue Lux (750 lumens). According to LIFX, these bulbs last up to 23 years based on three hours of usage per day. That's 25,000 hours total, which is far less than the suggested 40,000 hours for the multi-colored LIFX LED bulbs. The TCP bulbs are rated for 25,000 hours as well, as are the Hue Lux bulbs.

I tested the LIFX White with an Apple iPhone 6 and an HTC One M9. Installing the bulb was more complicated than it should have been, considering it doesn't require a hub like many other connected bulbs do. After screwing it into a lamp base and powering it on, I downloaded the LIFX app and changed my iPhone 6's Wi-Fi setting to the LIFX White 800's SSID. I was then prompted to input my email address in order to create a LIFX account, which can be used on other devices to remotely control the lights over the Internet. Once I set up my account, I tried pairing the bulb to the phone via my home Wi-Fi connection, but failed the first couple of times. A prompt in the app said to turn the light off and then back on after a minute or so. I did that and it still wouldn't work. So I turned the light off, reset the iPhone 6, and connected to the light manually by inputting my SSID and Wi-Fi information, which finally paired the bulb with the app. Pairing it with the HTC One M9 yielded a similar series of events.

Resetting the bulb to get it to work with a new Wi-Fi connection can also be tricky. You have to power it off via the physical light switch five times in a "moderate rhythm" before the reset takes effect. Maybe I just lack rhythm, but it took a couple of tries before the bulb finally reset.

App and Performance Both the Android and iOS versions of the LIFX app offer a simple-to-use "color" wheel that allows you to select the shade of white you want to display (color temperatures range between 2,700 and 6,500 Kelvins). The wheel of colors runs from brown and beige to gray and pure white; the whites give off a cool glow, while the darker colors provide warmer light. You can also dim the light by using the dial in the center of the color wheel, or shut the light off or turn it back on with a highly responsive power button.

If you have more than one LIFX bulb, the app lets you arrange your lights into groups so you can control multiple bulbs from a single menu. You can also create scenes and themes for each bulb or group of bulbs. Tapping a theme like an ocean wave or a sunset will change the color temperature and brightness of the light to set a mood, but this function seems lost on the White 800 since it lacks true color. (To its credit, the app cautions: "Themes work better with color bulbs.")

Meanwhile, you can also set a specific time to make the light fade, like after you leave for work. Or you can use your phone's GPS to set the light to turn off via IFTTT (If This Then That) integration. The bulb also communicates with Nest thermostats, which can tell the bulb to automatically turn on and off once the thermostat switches into Away mode, to make it look like someone is home. The thermostat can also help alert you of carbon monoxide detection by flashing the lights to get your attention.

An Effects menu gives you a handful of features, like a Candle Flicker option that lets you reenact the colonial days, and a Strobe effect in case a party breaks out. You can't just switch the strobe on and leave it, however. You need to keep your thumb pressed on the "switch" to keep the flashing going, which is a good thing considering how annoying it can get (and potentially dangerous for anyone who suffers from photosensitive epilepsy). The LIFX app also has a music visualizer that uses your phone's microphone to pick up music so the bulb can vary light color and brightness in time with the tunes.

If you ever want to swap the bulb out and screw it into a different lamp base, you can do so even after it's been on a while without worrying about burns since it runs very cool, even with the brightness set to max. Just remember to turn it off first.

ConclusionsThe LIFX White 800 is a close competitor to the Hue Lux in just about every category but price. The app is great, you get lots of cool features, and you don't need a separate hub to connect the bulb via Wi-Fi. If you're just buying one or two connected lights to test things out, the LIFX White is a solid choice. If you're looking to add connected lighting throughout your entire home, however, the Philips Hue Lux is a better deal. Although you'll need a hub, Hue Lux bulbs cost half the price, which will add up to substantial savings when you start buying a lot. The white-only Cree Connected LED and the GE Link are even cheaper, at $15 each, although they also require a hub, and don't offer quite as many unique features as the LIFX or Philips bulbs.

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About the Author

Timothy Torres is a Junior Analyst on PCMag's consumer electronics team. He covers wearables, digital home, and various cool gadgets including the occasional video game. He has written all manner of copy for Computer Shopper, The Jersey Journal, Radio One, Random House, and 2D-X. Before entering the tech world, he attended New York University and w... See Full Bio

LIFX White 800 LED Light Bulb

LIFX White 800 LED Light Bulb

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